Lower Saxony

The Lower Saxony (in German of Niedersachsen ) is a Land the North-West of the Germany made up in 1946 and corresponding to the Western part of the historical Saxony. It is the second Land in term of surface.

Territory

The territory of Lower Saxony covers: 47438 km ²; it is after the Bavaria the widest Land of the Federal republic. It is bordered in north by the the North Sea and the the Schleswig-Holstein, in the east by the Mecklembourg and the Saxony-Anhalt, in the south by the Hesse and of Thuringe, in the west by the the Rhineland of North-Westphalia and the Netherlands.

The principal cities are:

The Land of Bremen form two enclaves.

History

The Congrès of Vienna left with the territory of current Lower Saxony four independent States: the Kingdom of Hanover, the Grand Duchy of Oldenbourg, the duchy of Brunswick-Lunebourg and the principality of Schaumbourg-Lippe.

Consequently of the war austro-Prussian of 1866, the Prussia occupied and annexed the kingdom of Hanover and a province formed some. The revolutions of 1918 transformed the other States into republics. The old county of Pyrmont pertaining to the République of Waldeck was attached in 1922. In 1937, the province of Hanover exchanged some territories with the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg: Cuxhaven returned to the province of Hanover which yielded between in addition to the town of Harburg in Hamburg. In 1941, the limits between Brunswick and Hanover were modified.

The limits of the zones of occupation cut some exclaves Eastern and the canton of Neuhaus on Right Bank of the Elba, which remained in-outside British zone. The exclaves became parts of the Saxony-Anhalt, the canton of Neuhaus returned to the Mecklembourg. The district of the County of Schaumburg, a exclave of the province of Hesse - Nassau, which was mainly occupied by the Americans, was integrated into the province of Hanover.

In 1946, the British administration unified the province of Hanover with Länder of Brunswick, of Oldenbourg and of Schaumburg-Lippe and Lower Saxony formed some.

The Provisional constitution of Lower Saxony was promulgated the April 13rd 1951 and came into effect on May 1st, 1951.

A Plébiscite in 1974 asked for the re-establishment of Oldenbourg and Schaumburg-Lippe like Länder independent. Nevertheless, a federal law of the January 9th 1976 definitively integrated them into Lower Saxony.

By treaty of March 1993, the Land of Mecklembourg-Poméranie-Western returned the canton of Neuhaus to Lower Saxony the June 30th 1993.

Consequently of the Reunification, Landtag worked out a final constitution which was promulgated the May 19th 1993 and came into effect on June 1st, 1993.

Demography

Population of Lower Saxony east of 7,5 million inhabitants.

93% of the inhabitants speak German. The Low-German ( of Plattdeutsch ), a German dialect, remains very widespread in the campaigns of the north of the Land. Two thousand inhabitants speak the Eastern Frison; ols lives in the district of Kloppenburg located in the North-West of the Land close to the border with the Netherlands. The Clippings of the Land are not even regarded a “national minority”, but as a particular ethnicity being expressed in a strong regional identity.

Territorial administration

At the communal level, the Land includes/understands:

  • the area of Hanover ( of Area Hannover ) with 21 communes ( of Gemeinden );
  • 8 city-districts ( of kreisfreie Städte );
  • 37 districts ( of Landkreise ) with 994 not-organized communes, 2 districts ( of gemeindefreie Bezirke ) and 23 territories not-organized ( of gemeindefreie Gebiete ).

736 of the communes are gathered in 140 cantons ( of Samtgemeinden ) which ensure the municipal authorities. The others 287 communes have their own municipal authorities ( of Einheitsgemeinden ).

The 4 districts of Brunswick, Hanover, Lüneburg and Weser-Ems were dissolved on January 1st, 2005.

External bonds

  • international Gate of the basic Land Saxony
  • Official site of the tourist bureau of Lower Saxony

Nds-nl: Nedersaksen Simple: Lower Saxony

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